♪ ♪ anchor: this is dw news. david bowie has died after an 18-month battle with cancer. he was 69 and known as one of the most innovative voices of his generation. also coming up, outrage grows over cologne's njew year's sex attacks. they are looking for more penalties for asylum-seekers who

commit crimes, and is it barcelona or real madrid? we have the answer, coming up. ♪ i am sarah kelly. welcome to the show. the stardust has faded, and the world of music and art are p oorer after losing one of their icons, the embodiment of youth and rebellion. the legacy left by david bowie. in more ways than one, he was late out of this world. ♪

reap: david boy adopted many -- reporter: david bowie adopted many personas, from the 1960's, his first number one hit in 1969. ♪ x ♪ >> this is ground control to major tom ♪ >> a rational decision to keep on doing that. creating character after character. reporter: in 1976, he moved to west berlin, where he produced three albums. ♪ >> it really became a home for me, berlin, at that time.

i enjoyed it because there was so much happening in berlin at that time. reporter: the peak of his success was in the 1980's, selling over 140 million records. ♪ >> ♪ the song playing on the radio ♪ reporter: on his 69th birthday, he released his last album, "black star," which may relate to his in pending death, and now, a new space oddity begins, a space left by his death. sarah: and his wife, imam, posted a tribute.

and he fled los angeles and landed in west berlin, collaborating with iggy pop and most of all absorbing the vibe of a pulsating city. >> just a few hours after the sad news, people are gathering here where david bowie lived with iggy pop on the first floor of this building back in 1970's berlin. >> i thought i would come here and him last respects and just think about him for a moment. reporter: did he have an effect on your life growing up? >> you should have seen my hairstyles in the 1980's. that was pure bowie. he was a genius, and i am sad he is gone so early from our lives.

reporter: here we are at the café, and during his berlin heyday, this was a very famous café in berlin for the gay and lesbian community and where bo wie would often come at 6:00 in the morning to have his breakfast. and here we are now at the location of the famous recording studio where david bowling in the 1970's record of the famous berlin trilogy. was that, for you, the pinnacle of bowie? >> completing albums here, outstanding work.

reporter: one of his most famous berlin songs references the berlin wall. legend has it that david bowie looked out and saw producer tony visconti with a singer, and the rest, of course, is history. that is the end of our little tour of bowie's berlin. it is time to say goodbye. thank you, david, for the music. sarah: and we are joined in the studio by adrienne kennedy, who we just saw in that piece, and we have a producer who produced a documentary on the berlin

movie scene back in the 1970's and 1980's. thank you for joining us. i want to begin with you. what are your remarks on this day of the passing of david bowie? >> i got the message this morning at 7:00 in the morning, and i am still trying to digest it really. it is overwhelming. i grew up with david bowie, and he also grew up. sarah: speaking of growing up, you grow up in the same neighborhood. >> he kind of moved on, and he was always one step ahead of may, you can say. back in the 1970's, britain was a fairly drab place, and david bell he brought a lot of color to it, and the area where we grew up, where david bowie grew up, was a suburb, and when he

burst onto the scene, he was a champion of the underdog, of people who felt a bit different. you know, the freaks. he was like someone who came from another world, and made it possible to be a more feminine man. it was not just a revolution in music, but it was a cultural revolution. sarah: how is it that such a revolutionary came out of a neighborhood like that? >> i think that is often the case. like the rolling stones. not exactly el dorado at the time. >> we bring better color back. our lives would have been a lot more boring without him. he brought color to a generation. sarah: and with his music, what

is his musical legacy? who is david bowie, the musician? >> david bowie was more than just an musical -- musician. he was an artist. he transgressed over so many -- he created genres. the punks love david boeing because he represented something that not many artists could. >> he was a man of impeccable taste, and he nurtured iggy pop, and he always knew to get the absolute best musicians on his side, whether it was young americans or the musicians or later in berlin. he always kind of managed to amass great musicians and make

great, inventive albums. >> and even later, with placebo and nine inch nails. he worked with even current artists, as well. sarah: so now we have an left with his swan song. "black star." it was released on friday. i believe we have a clip for you. ♪ sarah: what an eerie mood we are seeing there. from the technical perspective, did this live up to the rest of his output? >> i would say absolutely. a fantastic video that we just saw there. i think, obviously, he was aware

of how ill he was. there is a lot of importance of death in the album. it is a very jazz bass album which goes back to his beginnings, and again, he amassed really, really talented jazz musicians to work on this album and created an absolutely thrilling last album that anyone should listen to. >> it is quite electronic, as well. it is not just a jazz album. what i find fascinating is he has managed to turn his death into a work of art. his last album is a kind of revelation about an approach to death, which eventually we will all face. he has owned it. sara: what has david bowie meant to you? >> i probably would not have gone to berlin in the 1970's.

from being a hippie, he was like a long-haired guy in a dress. that was fascinating. and when i was a kid growing up in a school, he was a character, but i'd like to that, and that is what made me fascinated by it. the whole image of david. it was everything i kind of looked for in music. and then in the 1970's, these albums, they were fascinating. they paint a picture, and i thought if he was going to live here, then why couldn't i, so i came. sara: david bowie was certainly onto something in many ways. thank you. we appreciate it.

we turn to some other news now and the repercussions from the new year's eve sex attacks in cologne that continue to make themselves felt. some nationals and an asylum seeker were assaulted in retaliatory attacks by far right groups. the government says they want to tighten rules for a silent seekers and refugees, but opponents say the proposals go too far. reporter: the government flexes its muscles, wanting to increase video surveillance. in addition, some refugees should no longer be permitted to choose where they live. this has to deal with recognized refugees who are not employed, likely having to accept a fixed abode for a certainty or you keeper of time, and people moving in a region within a short period.

another result of the incident in cologne, the german minister is calling for an investigation, clamping down on the perpetrators. in my opinion, we need both. rirous application of the law, for which there are many possibilities, but possibly also a tightening of government regulations. the christian democrats want to deport criminal refugees more quickly and those who have received a stiff percent, but others have their doubts. >> i would like to remind you there is a framework based on the geneva convention. it says that deportation to a country where someone's life is at risk is only when a crime has been committed. we have to finally implement what has already been agreed. we need to speed up the process and make it so the laws we already have are implemented.

but germany wants to have the parliament agree for consequences on the issues in cologne as quickly as possible. sarah: when we come back, taking home a record fifth award. >> everywoman, every man knows that food -- >> we have had a lot of problems. >> that could easily have been us.

sarah: welcome back. you are with dw news. a reminder of error top story. david bowie has died of cancer at the age of 69, 1 of the most innovative and creative performers of his career, which spanned four decades, and his last album was released just last friday. it is more than a year since nato combat troops left afghanistan, b there is little sign of peace inountry. the ba stepped up their insurgency, and losses on

the battlefield are mounting. another effort was launched to try to create a roadmap to peace. delegates from the united states, afghanistan, and other countries are in talks in islamabad, and one key player, the taliban, is not attending. report: convincing the taliban to come to the table and consider giving of violence, that was the primary goal put forward by the pakistan foreign affairs adviser who opened the meeting. >> first and foremost is to define the direction of the reconciliation process along with goals and targets it would like to set with a view to creating a conducive way for holding direct talks. reporter: since the u.s. and nato ended their combat mission to afghanistan, the taliban have stepped up their attacks and

taken swaps the territory, especially in the south of the country. the taliban are also splintering. since the death of their leader, his successor does not command the same authority. >> he is not being accepted. they are saying that he cannot be our leader. there are different conflicts within the taliban, as well. report: the afghanistan president has said the success of any talks will depend on the taliban themselves. he has issued this morning to the group. >> the fundamental issue here is the choice. choose peace or terrorism. there is no second choice. there will be no tolerance for terrorism.

report: the afghan security forces are still in no position to take down the taliban alone. if the 15 years of bloodshed are to come to an end, a peace deal is the only option. sarah: we want to return to our top story, the passing of david belli, and from our business desk, we have more on why he was not just a musician. anchor: he also had a shrewd sense of business opportunities. often lavish productions that he made, he often needed cash, and when he found himself short of it, like many artists do once in a while, he pioneered a new vehicle for artists that allowed them to cash in on future projects. for investors, it was a huge hit. report: they do not call it glam rock for nothing.

glamour comes with a price, and ike most everything and the and life of david bowie, it did not come cheap, but he was more than just a big showbiz talent. he was also a is this man, fighting to keep control of his copyrights, and he needed lots of money to do it. in 1997 when an investment banker came up with an innovative scheme so performance artists could secure the future income from their copyrighted works, david bowie was the first to sign on. that was the first of the so-called bowie bond. here is how it works. they use the future sales of 25 albums. he was able to raise $55 million through the bonds, money that he got up front. in return, investors were promised 7.9% interest on their investment, a substantial

premium over 10 year treasury bonds at the time. similar bonds were issued for other performers, including the king of soul, james brown, and rod stewart and the heavy metal group iron maiden, that the bonds were short-lived, with online filesharing, and celebrity bonds became too risky of an investment. for the david bowie fans, all that is left is his musi. his latest album, "black star" was released just a few days ago. anchor: going already to the top of the official u.k. album charts. at the theater of the absurd. that is what russian president vladimir putin said about the ongoing sanctions against his country in response to the russian annexation of crimea, and he admitted that the russian economy is suffering severely

under them. he also said that russia non-oil and gas deficit has risen to dangerous levels. reporter: tensions -- temperatures have reached subzero. that the mood of russians has also reached rock-bottom. everything is getting more expensive, that is for sure. i do not know, but it seems things are going to get worse for the country. we live outside the country, and our pensions are very low. how are we supposed to survive on $100 a month? od and medicine has become more expensive. housing has also. it is tough. on the first day of trading in 2016, the ruble fell to its lowest in six months, and the russian economy overall is continuing its downward trend, falling 3.8% in the past year. in an interview with a german

tablet, vladimir putin said it is making the economy especially hard. that collapse has to be offset elsewhere in the country. the v fail to say exactly how. he also did not explain his plans for controlling inflation. drastic action is needed in order to keep the currency flowing and to drive the economy forward. anchor: the chief executive of volkswagen says his company wants to invest more than $1 billion at its factory in chattanooga, tennessee. in a speech for the u.s. come here apologized for cheating missions -- the missions --

emmissions tests report.: volkswagen apologized. it was his first 50 united states after taking over after volkswagen admitted to cheating on a test. >> are most important goal in 2016 is to win back trust. it is not only our cars we have to fix. we know we have to repair our credibility also. reporter: he is scheduled to present a newly developed catalytic converter to u.s. authorities, and they hope it will help them comply with u.s. standards. >> of course, words are not enough. we are progressing with effective solutions for customers. we are getting to the very bottom of how this could have

happened, and we will learn from it. reporter: nobody knows yet whether the new device will get volkswagen off the hook in america. so far, every other solution has been rejected by the regulators. anchor: and that is it from the business desk. back to sarah. sarah: winning the fifa award, the fifth time the argentine has won the award crowning him the best player of the year. >> journalists and others the world over have once again voted lionel messi the best in the world. he got the club world cup as well as reaching the american final with argentina.

>> it is difficult to come up with just one team almond. it was a very full year for us. we won practically everything we played. it was an extraordinary year. to come up with just one moment is extraordinary. reporter: he had many successes, but also injuries. scoring his goals in 53 appearances is even more impressive. >> we have played at an incredible level. he came back from a bad injury as if nothing had happened. we saw him scoring and scoring and assisting. it is as if it is his destiny. reporter: while the ads to his growing collection, last year's winner started the year like last year's end it, without any awards. sarah: the legendary singer

david bowie has died at the age of 69. he had been suffering from cancer for 18 months, something he had kept secret. his recent album, "black star," was just released. in his career, which spanned four decades, he was a cultural legend and icon. we leave you now with some of his music. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

damien: hello and welcome to a special new year's edition of "focus on europe," after what's certainly been an eventful year for the whole continent. so today, we're going to look back at the big issues that shaped 2015 with a reminder of some of our favourite stories. in greece, the refugee who's racing towards a new life in europe. the dutch relatives looking for answers after the downing of mh17. and why slovenian farmers are the salt of the earth. one of this year's big stories in europe of course has been the eurozone debt crisis. and it's greece that's been right in the middle of it. athens wants more financial support. but most other eurozone countries want to see economic